Print Story
X
A new kind of air-borne thriller
In such airplane thrillers, everybody knows that the leading man will eventually save the day. But in Non-stop, Bill Marks doesn’t have what a leading man has - he is not as young as one would like him to be, his wife left him after their daughter lost her life to cancer and in 20 minutes, if he doesn’t convince the airline to pay the ransom, someone will die midair. To make matters more complicated, the account provided for ransom is also in Bill Marks’ name, making him the prime suspect. Ooooooh!
What I was expecting?
It was expected that the movie will have action sequences and since the plane is in air, guns would be out of question. The suspense will take first place, action second and thrill third, and that is exactly what happened. Liam Neeson gives a top-notch performance as the ‘confused’ US Air Marshall who is fond of trusting no one, likes to smoke in the lavatory and considers himself responsible for every life at stake, on his watch! As a deranged person with the gun, he displays the right emotions at the right time, and it is because of him alone that people would go to watch the movie, and enjoy it.
What I wasn’t expecting?
Julianne Moore is 53 years old yet she doesn’t look like it at all. Even then, she could have said no to the character that would clearly have suited a younger actress better. She seems obsessed with sitting at the window seat and had I been asked to choose my villain, she would have been it! Similarly, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) is underused in the flick as a flight attendant although she could have been given a few lines here and there. British actress Michelle Dockery (of Downtown Abbey fame) doesn’t do a bad job as the other airhostess as she helps the protagonist thwart the hijacking attempt and save as many lives as possible. All the rest of the cast does is look bewildered as if a snake is on the loose but trust me, their acting is far better than Samuel L. Jackson’s B-grade movie Snakes on a Plane, released 8 years back.
What I did experience …
You don’t know who the villain is till the very end and that is what makes a thriller more thrilling. Add action sequences of top quality and tension all around and you get value for your money. Much of the scenes take place inside the plane so there are no picturesque locations but when actions speak louder than words, who cares!
What I will never forget …
When in air, do as airborne people do, seems to be the motto of all those flying on the tense flight. There is an NYPD cop bound for London who doesn’t trust the ‘Marshall’, there is a computer hacker who tries to trace the phone of the terrorist and there is a bearded Muslim doctor (Omar Metwally) on board who is one of the few people the protagonist trusts, but can the protagonist be trusted? Are having a badge and a gun enough to make you bank on someone you don’t even know. You have to watch the movie to find that one out!
Not bad for a forgotten subject!
The 90s gave us classics like Wesley Snipes’ Passenger 57, Harrison Ford’s Air Force One and Kurt Russell’s Executive Decision - all airline thrillers where the good guys always win. Jodie Foster’s Flightplan wasn’t bad either and if you liked those films, you will not be disappointed with Jaume Collet-Serra’s Non-stop. Those who aren’t fans of action genre should stay away from the movie since it will not be up to ‘their standard’. Some have even dubbed the movie as Taken 3, since Liam Neeson is still the lean, mean, fighting machine who likes to do what he does best! Had master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock been alive, he would most certainly have recommended this movie since it is made in the Hitchcock mode.
-- Omair Alavi works for Geo TV and can be contacted at omair78@gmail.com
